India, Belgium call for end to conflicts in West Asia, Ukraine — SkimNews
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- PM Modi and Belgian PM Bart De Wever met at Hyderabad House where both leaders called for an "early end to conflicts" in Ukraine and West Asia, issuing a Joint Statement demanding "safety and security of maritime routes" in both theatres.
- India and Belgium signed three government-level defence agreements — a Letter of Intent on Defence Cooperation, an MoU between BDSI and SIDM, and a law-enforcement MoU between the CBI and Belgium Federal Police — with at least 10 private defence deals expected during the visit.
- Thales Belgium partnered with Kalyani Strategic Systems to produce Belgium's 70mm rockets in India, while the Indian defence sector gains access to Belgian drones including the 'Saboteur', 'Buzzkill' and 'Hitchhikker' interceptor systems.
- Belgium condemned the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and backed India's campaign against cross-border terrorism; India separately announced it will appoint a Defence Attache at its Embassy in Brussels.
- Belgian Frigate LEOPOLD will visit India from November 5-8, 2026, and the Belgian Defence College will carry out a study tour to India later this year, per the Joint Statement.
- Both governments announced plans to double bilateral trade within five years and established a Consular Dialogue and fast-track trade mechanism, with PM De Wever pitching Belgium as a strategic European partner under the broader India-EU Free Trade Agreement framework.
- The two leaders paid tributes to more than 9,000 Indian soldiers who perished in the Flanders Fields during World War I, and discussed the Mehul Choksi extradition case with India reaffirming its commitment to fugitive repatriation.
Why it matters: This visit locks India into concrete co-production with a NATO member — 70mm rockets and Belgian drone systems including the 'Hitchhikker' interceptor — at a moment when Modi is simultaneously publicly pressing for de-escalation in Ukraine and West Asia, signaling that Delhi's diplomatic peace push runs parallel to, not in place of, accelerated defence industrial ties.
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